Ch. 28: "I've had Enough of Your Talk" - Backstreet Boys, Not for Me
Obi-Wan stood nervously at his Master's shoulder, waiting for the warden to bring Kalifa Sendar to meet with them. They stood in the middle of the brightly-lit visiting room. Chairs leaned at random intervals against the wall around the room, the only furniture. Someone moved beyond the small window in the door across from the one they'd come in, and Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan. "Are you sure?" he asked.
Obi-Wan could feel Qui-Gon's concern and love, and both bolstered him. "Yes, Master," he said, and then the door opened.
"I have a few questions as well," Qui-Gon told him, and then they turned their attention to Kalifa. She stood for a moment just inside the door. When it closed, she took a chair the farthest from them. Her expression told Obi-Wan nothing, but her eyes burned with… he couldn't name that emotion. The Force-suppressing collar at her throat comforted him, but not as much as he hoped. "Master Windu said you wanted to ask me some questions," she said, and her eyes dropped to the floor. "He said it would be better if I were to answer them."
Qui-Gon walked over and took a chair some distance from her. Obi-Wan stood at his right shoulder, hoping he looked less nervous than he felt. Qui-Gon's assurance down the bond helped him relax. "Di'ona said she was controlling my dreams," he started. "How could she do that when I was in the Temple?"
She still had no expression. "She knew where you were," she said without looking up.
"Did you let her in the Temple?"
"I did," Kalifa said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Most Jedi don't look closely at others moving around the Temple at night, especially because they are in the Temple and assume it's safe."
"What about Toman?" Obi-wan kept his own feelings locked tight about his former Master. He refused to give her an opening. She might have that collar which kept her from accessing the Force, but that didn't make her any less dangerous.
"Yes, I let him in, too. Something had to be done." Kalifa's voice hardened.
Obi-Wan had an uncomfortable feeling she meant him, but went on with his questions. "How long was Di'ona on Nemorina?"
"Almost five standard years."
Obi-wan paused a moment, not sure how to continue. "Did she orchestrate our arrival there?" he asked slowly.
Kalifa looked up at him finally, eyes narrowed with malice before she dropped them again. "Yes. The Council gave me the assignment because Halldor knew me. It didn't take much to get Qui-Gon assigned to help me when the girl disappeared, since he was the closest one with a senior Padawan." She glanced up again for an instant. "And you were right where she wanted you."
"Did she have anything to do with the rest of the missing children?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes. She set up the whole ring."
Obi-Wan stared at her. "She ruined hundreds of lives just to get to me?"
"If it would save the Jedi, and through them many more lives, then yes," Kalifa said defiantly.
"Are you certain that preventing Obi-Wan from reaching his trials would save the Jedi?" Qui-Gon asked, his voice quieter than before.
"My Master is… was."
"How did your Master convince you what she was doing was right?" Qui-Gon asked.
Kalifa straightened and fastened her gaze on his. "She shared her visions with me. With all of us. They were horrible, Master Jinn. Younglings struck down, the Temple in flames…. Anything she did is worth avoiding that." She started to reach for the collar, then caught herself and put her hands back in her lap. "If you take this off, I would be able to show you."
Qui-Gon shook his head. "The Council forbids it."
"Did she ever say what I would do?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to sound as collected as his Master. He didn't think he did a very good job. Her words had shaken him a lot.
Kalifa didn't look at him, her eyes fixed on Qui-Gon. "No. Only that you would destroy the Jedi."
"She didn't think of some other way to keep that vision from happening?" Obi-Wan asked next.
"If she could have, she would have done it," Kalifa snapped, glaring at him for an instant. He wondered if she found the sight of him painful - and then wondered why. Because he had killed her Master?
"I see," Qui-Gon said.
"Do you?" she asked, suddenly fervent. "Do you see how he will destroy us, what must be done?" She clawed at the collar. "Let me show you, Master Jinn. You could stop the destruction here and now."
Obi-Wan couldn't believe it. She wanted to recruit his Master to this insanity? But before he could even start to worry, Qui-Gon portrayed his own horror at the thought.
"I did not have that vision," Qui-Gon said gently, and her frantic motion stopped, her hands folded back into her lap. "I had the exact opposite experience. It was very clear to me that I was to train Obi-Wan, so clear that I had very little other option."
"But you have only brought about the destruction of the order," she insisted.
"That is why I doubt the validity of your Master's vision," Qui-Gon said, calm against her raging storm. "Did she go to the Council?"
"Of course," she spat impatiently. "Yoda put her off with platitudes. Always in motion the future is," she said, mocking the Master and the council he gave. "They would not act on it, and advised her to wait and see what happened. My Master did not think waiting was the correct answer."
"And if she was wrong?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Then the life of one Padawan is a low enough price to insure that 10,000 Jedi remain alive and well, and continue to serve the Galaxy."
"The life of any one person is far too high a cost," Qui-Gon said firmly, and stood. "Thank you for your time." Immediately, the door she had come through opened, and the warden Obi-Wan had not seen before stepped in. Kalifa stood and swept out. As soon as the door closed behind her, Qui-Gon led the way from the room through the door they'd come in, toward the lifts that would take them up to their residence level.
Obi-Wan followed in silence, thinking about what had happened. He'd found nothing but sorrow in the bond with Qui-Gon, sorrow for her and what she had become. It bothered him, and he felt he would have to meditate on the whole situation to understand any of it.
The silence lasted until they reached their quarters. "I guess now we know why I was getting the dreams in the Temple," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully as he sank down on the couch.
Qui-Gon smiled as he sat down in his overstuffed chair. "Yes," he agreed. "Are you okay?"
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "Yes," he said. "I am."
"Did you get the answers you were looking for?"
"Mostly," Obi-Wan said. "I still wish I knew what I am supposed to do to destroy the Jedi."
Qui-Gon leaned forward, catching Obi-Wan's eyes. "You will not turn against the Jedi," he said firmly, smiling a little. "It simply isn't in you."
Obi-Wan took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. His Master believed in him. He was content with that.